The following account was posted by Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research investigator Manuel Navarette on UFO Clearinghouse. A cargo company employee at O'Hare International Airport reports various unexplained sightings and encounters experienced by himself and others on the job. This is a follow-up after a phone conversation with the witness:
The following was originally posted at 'O'Hare Mothman,' UFOs & Alien Being Experiences Continually Reported by Airport Personnel:
"My name is *redacted* and I am 34 years old and live in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. I work at O’Hare International Airport for *redacted* where I am a member of the ground crew. I have worked for *redacted* for the last 8 years and have seen a lot of strange things in my time there. I have also heard from others of the strange things that are seen and heard at O’Hare at all hours of the day and night. Anyone who has worked in and around the “cargo” facility for more than a few months has seen the strange lights in the sky or have seen anything from ghosts to strange creatures of all manners at least once. The entire airport itself is spooky, with many strange tunnels that are sealed off and forbidden to even go near to strange military vehicles that come and go at all hours of the day and night. There’s even an old graveyard on the airport grounds.
I have seen my fair share of things, I’ve seen a lot of UFO’s in the air above the airport, strange creatures that seem to hang around the airport, including the one they call the Mothman. These sightings mostly occur toward the evening and night. I work second shift, so I get out later in the evening and have seen many of these strange lights after 10-11 p.m. There is one object dubbed the “Diamond Craft” it’s a large diamond shaped light that frequently appears in the sky around the perimeter of the airport on some nights. It’s pretty well known to many of the ground crews that work throughout the airport and can sometimes be seen 2-3 nights in a row. It frequently appears in the same general area and hangs around for about 5-10 minutes before disappearing.
One night, about the 4th of July 2020, I was outside overseeing the unloading of a plane when myself and a group of four people all saw what looked like a large person with wings fly over us, it was about 20 feet above us and flew right over us with very little sound. It looked basically as I said, a large man about 6 feet tall with a very large pair of batlike wings. It was solid black, so much so that it stood out against the sky and lights of the airport. It was over in a matter of a few seconds and people joked that we had just seen the “Mothman” and the conversation quickly turned to the many sightings that people have had in and around the airport of something similar. I have had multiple encounters with UFO’s and their occupants that have been ongoing for the last 2 years.
I have seen what I can only describe as aliens on at least 8 occasions, both at work and at home. It all started back in 2018, it was around May and I looked up into the sky as I was moving from one building to the next and saw a large circular object that was giving off a green glow, it hovered silently about 100 feet from the ground and I as I looked up at it, I got the strange sensation that the object or something in it was looking back at me. I picked up the pace and tried to get into the building but the closer I got to the door an overwhelming urge came over me to stop and look up at the object. It finally got too much to bear and I stopped about 20 feet from the door and looked up just in time to see the object slowly drift away and higher into the sky. It continued its upward trend for about 10 seconds before it simply disappeared from sight.
My first encounter with seeing one of the aliens happened a month later, I went to the office to get a set of extra keys that were needed to access a storage locker. The office was dark as the people in it had all left sometime earlier. I went in, got the keys and was walking out when something made me stop and look out into the hallway toward the stairs and I saw what looked like a medium sized man looking right at me. We looked at each other for what seemed like a minute before I turned away and when I looked again, it was gone. The freak out then came over me, It looked like what you see on TV, grey skin and very large black almost insect like eyes. It had no lips to speak of, only a thin slit and was at least 3 inches shorter than I am (I’m 5’10). I must have sounded like an idiot basically hyperventilating in an empty dark office but within a few minutes, I had regained my composure. Surprisingly, I was not afraid and have not ever sensed a reason to be afraid, they can look scary as hell but I have never felt like I was in danger. I have since then seen them only from a distance, usually in the shadow or trying to hide and observe.
I have sensed them at home, but have never seen them inside the house, I have caught glimpses of them looking into the window but those were only momentary glimpses as they seem to be able to anticipate me looking toward them and quickly get out of sight. I have a dog who will bark at the window or the door unexpectedly at night as if he is trying to warn me but when I go to look, I end up seeing nothing. I also have a cat but if she’s seen anything she’s not telling or is indifferent to the whole thing. I have only had one encounter with one at home where I have seen it, and that was the reason that prompted me to write to you.
It happened about a week ago. I had days off and was at home at about 1030 at night when my dog started growling and then ran toward the back door. As I got up and followed him, I saw that the backyard lights had been triggered and that standing on the back deck in front of the back door was what looked like the same alien I had seen the first time. My dog was going berserk and would charge the door but stop short of hitting it and then back up again. It looked right at me before it took a step back and straight out disappeared right in front of me. I didn’t freak like the first time but felt a little unnerved that it had come so close to my house and had allowed itself to be seen.As before, I felt like I was in no danger but did feel like it was trying to communicate with me in some way. My dog stayed in front of the door growling for another 10 minutes before it came back to my room with me. I stayed up for a while trying to make sense of what had just happened. That’s when I got online and started looking up information about what had just occurred that led to this website and the reports of the sightings at O’Hare."
The update information following an interview by Manuel Navarette with the witness:
I spoke with the witness on two separate occasions and was able to put together the following report in regards to the witnesses sightings. The witness is an employee for a major airline operating out of O’Hare International Airport and has been working there for over 8 years. He is a 34 year old divorced male who lives in the area of O’Hare Airport. When I asked the witness for verification, he produced employment credentials which included a security badge. After verification of the witnesses credentials and employment, I began to ask the witness various questions in regard to the report submitted to UFO Clearinghouse. The witness stated that he has worked the overnight shift for most of his time at O’hare and in that time he has witnessed various UFO’s and has had encounters with what he could only describe as “aliens”.
The witness also stated that he has had one encounter with a flying humanoid while at work on the tarmac. When I asked him to elaborate he indicated that he was working with a crew prepping a plane for flight and that one of the crew noticed and pointed out the flying humanoid. When I asked him to describe the entity, the witness said it looked like it was 6-7 feet tall and had black wings that he estimated were at least 12 feet wide. The witness did not indicate seeing any red eyes and stated that it was completely black and flying at a very fast rate of speed.
When asked how the rest of his crew reacted, he stated that many joked that it was the “Mothman” and many of them had either seen or heard stories about this creature and the sightings around the airport. When I asked him if he had any feelings of dread or fear the witness indicated that he did not. When I asked if it could have been something like a crane or heron or a large owl, the witness stated there was no way it could have been as he had seen large birds before and this entity did not fit the shape of a large bird.
When asked about the first encounter with an entity that he had while at work, the witness stated exactly as reported in his sighting. He had gone to get an extra set of keys he needed and that while inside the office building he had come face to face with the being. He stated that they stared at each other for what seemed an eternity, he stated in reality that it might have only been a few seconds. When the witness turned away and looked back, he was gone. The witness stated that it was pretty cut and dry and there were no bright lights or other theatrics involved.
The witness stated that ever since his first encounter at work that he has felt that they have been observing him from a distance and he indicated that he has seen them at the perimeter fence and sometimes attempting to blend into the shadows of the buildings at the airport. I asked him if he had reported any missing time during any of his experiences and he felt that he had not, but the witness indicated that he could not be 100% sure that he had not experienced missing time.
The witness stated that he felt that he was being observed and that they did seem to keep track of his movements both at work and at home. When I asked him to elaborate, the witness said that he can sometimes see them out of the corner of your eye and that he sees unexplained shadows at night that he cannot account for. I asked him if he ever felt afraid that they were going to harm him or abduct him, he stated that he felt no ill-intentions from them and that they were merely curious and that if they had wanted to abduct him they would have and he would have been powerless to stop them doing so. The witness did state that he felt that the entity that he saw that night at his house was scared off by his dog barking and that he felt that he was in no danger.
When we started talking about his encounters at work, the witness said that he has always seen strange things at night around the airport. Sightings of unidentified flying objects are commonplace and that the object that he described as the “Diamond Craft” was seen by various airport personnel at least 3-4 times a month and that it would hover for a few minutes before either disappearing or shooting off at a rapid pace. When asked if the airport ever responded to reports of these sightings, the witness said at first they would but eventually they became so commonplace that the airport would just basically ignore them and tell their employees that unless there was a “clear and present danger” to the aircraft there was not much they could do.
When asked about the military presence at the airport, the witness said that ever since his report was submitted he had noticed a marked increase in military presence around O’Hare. Military and government vehicles were a common sight and they came and went around the airport at all hours of the day and night. When I asked him if he knew what they were doing or going he indicated that he did not know and really did not want to know.
When I asked him about the tunnels in and around the airport the witness stated that there were many tunnels that criss-crossed the entirety of the airport grounds, many of them large enough to accommodate large service vehicles. Many of the tunnels were off-limits and many were locked and posted as off-limits. When I asked if he knew what most of the tunnels were used for, the witness stated that many were service tunnels used in the day to day operations of the airport for accessing utilities and whatnot. When asked if he knew what the other tunnels were used for, the witness indicated that he did not.
The witness did provide hand drawn sketches of the entity he encountered while at work and has seen frequently around the airport and of the entity that he saw outside his home. Those drawings have been included below.
Conclusion:
It is the opinion of the investigator that the witness is being truthful and that his accounts of the sightings are credible and warrant continued investigation. The witness has been helpful and forthcoming with information and has indicated that he would assist by reporting any further sightings to the investigator and the members of the Phantoms and Monsters Fortean Investigation Team.
Have you had a sighting of a flying humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman.' Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated. You can call me directly at 410-241-5974 as well. Thanks. Lon Strickler
